Feedback sought for water management recommendations

15 December 2017Community
feedback sought for water management
recommendations

The Orari Temuka Opihi
Pareora Water Zone Committee has released its draft set of
recommendations for managing water in South Canterbury and
is now seeking public feedback.

The Draft Zone
Implementation Programme Addendum (ZIPA) recommends
environmental limits and practical actions that will protect
and improve freshwater quality in the zone.

Orari Temuka
Opihi Pareora Zone Committee Chair John Talbot says the
completion of the draft ZIPA is the result of two years of
hard work by the zone committee, as well as input from the
community and stakeholders in its Healthy Catchment Project
on water management.

“This is a big step towards
healthier rivers in our region. The OTOP ZIPA has been
developed following many meetings, scientific research and
community engagement to gather information about the
region’s water resources,” he said.“The
recommendations we have made are designed to help achieve
the nvironmental, cultural, social and economic benefits
from this region’s water.

"The community asked us, in
particular, to improve rivers for swimming, fishing and food
gathering and also provide reliable water for economic
growth. We're looking to improve environmental flows in
tributaries, better manage nutrients entering waterways, and
enable access to 'alpine' water.

“Our draft ZIPA is
definitely not the last word and we want to hear feedback
from local people about the recommendations and whether they
agree with the approach we have put forward,” he
said.

Throughout 2016 and 2017 the Healthy Catchment
Project’s public meetings were held throughout the region
to discuss water management priorities. The feedback from
the meetings – including the outcomes expected by the
community - helped guide the committee’s draft ZIPA for
water management.

The draft ZIPA outlines more than 100
recommendations to councils and stakeholders on how to
achieve 10 key community goals which focus on: flood
protection and river care, safe drinking water, protecting
native plants and waterway life, providing a reliable source
of water that contributes to the economy, having more places
to enjoy our waterways, protecting mahinga kai and cultural
sites.

Some further decisions, such as what the minimum
flow levels for each river will be, will be made in 2018
with the latest scientific information, as well as further
consultation with those that use water from the rivers.

A
community roadshow with 10 public sessions in five locations
around South Canterbury will be held in January and February
2018 to give people a chance to give feedback on the draft
ZIPA before the end of the consultation at the end of
February.

The ZIPA can be found online here, collected from the Environment
Canterbury office in Timaru or Christchurch, or at one of
the roadshow events in early 2018. Local public libraries
will also have copies of the ZIPA available.

OTOP
Draft ZIPA Community Engagement ‘Roadshow’
details:All members of the public are welcome
to attend to learn more about the draft recommendations, ask
questions give feedback.

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